6.29.2010

Beach Week - The Cure For Everything

"The cure for everything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea." - Isak Dinesen

Six hours after our departure from Florence, we arrived in Orange Beach feeling quite a bit less than our best. And not for the reasons you may expect....like the possibility of a unhappy baby on a long road trip.

Will & I had agonized for days leading up to our vacation about the actual ride in the car. We found ourselves hypothesizing about how we thought Hudson might react to at least six consecutive hours in his car seat. Would their be ear-wrenching screams? Would the two of us be in tears upon arrival, as a result of the stress in the vehicle? Or could he possibly sleep the entire way? To our relief, he was a perfect little angel. He slept from Florence to Clanton, home of that infamous, giant, roadside peach, perched on the hillside between Birmingham and Montgomery, where we roused him awake so that we could carry him into the cool confines of Durbin Farms, a favorite stop for most every Alabama beach-seeker, as they have the most delicious ice cream and produce around; Think fresh watermelons, hot boiled peanuts, and the juiciest peaches this side of Georgia. It was the perfect meeting place, also. My parents pulled in just behind us, and the 5 of us settled into sturdy rocking chairs and enjoyed sweet treats and conversation about all the fun we would soon be having on the white sands of the Gulf. Our experience in the car had been fabulous, thus far. There was only one small problem. I had been feeling the beginnings of a raspy throat when we pulled out of our driveway. By the time we hit the interstate, I was having cold chills. And when we pulled up to Durbin Farms, I was fully aware that I was sick. Upon the moment that Mom laid eyes on me, she knew something was wrong. Sallow-eyed, and basically feeling sorry for myself, I all but broke down in tears as she felt my forehead and I mumbled on about 'how I finally got to have a vacation' and 'I can't believe I'm sick.' But the creamy home-made butter pecan ice cream helped to soothe my aching throat, and I told Will that I was ready to suck it up and trudge on. After all, I had always heard that salt water could cure everything.

We rolled into Orange Beach right on schedule. The ride from Clanton to the beach had been amazingly uneventful. Our little man had once again surprised us, sleeping the entire rest of the way, making us very happy. But, unfortunately, my sniffles had continued, and when we pulled into Sea & Suds to have our traditional spread of "Welcome to the Beach" Raw Oysters, I was feeling awful. I managed a smile as I laid my eyes on the beautiful ocean, and tried to muster a happy tone as I told Hudson where he was. The oysters were fabulous, and Hudson was a smiling little bundle of love while we ate, but I really felt like I just needed to lie down. How could I be this sick on vacation!? I guess it was time to see if that old adage was true...could salt water actually be the cure for everything?